Tourism action plan sought for Mandya

Elected representatives in Mandya are seeking an action plan for promoting lesser known tourist sites that are historically important and the sites that are attractive because of their location.

Elected representatives in Mandya are seeking an action plan for promoting lesser known tourist sites that are historically important and the sites that are attractive because of their location.

At the Tourism Committee meeting held in Mandya on Tuesday, MLA Ravikumar said Mandya has many ancient temples and the district is culturally and historically important with many monuments. Sri Ananthapadmanabha Temple at Hosa Budanur, and Sri Kashi Vishweshwara temple are among the ancient temples located in the district.

Arkeshwara Temple in Mandya, Thandaveshwara Temple at Holalu and temples in Budhanoor need to be developed to attract tourists. An action plan in this regard needs to be prepared for developing the sites for tourism promotion, he suggested.

Hoysala time temples at Budhanoor are architectural marvels and a festival was being planned at the site in February, he said. A proposal in this regard will be sent to the government, the added.

Srirangapatna MLA Ramesh Bandisidde Gowda said Srirangapatna is a historical town that attracts many tourists. But the destination lacks basic facilities for visitors and steps have to be taken in this regard. He told the officials to make use of the government grants effectively for developing the tourist sites.

Melkote MLA Darshan Puttanaiah said the tourism website being prepared for promoting Mandya tourism and the tourist map for the district have to be tourist-friendly and loaded with useful information for the visitors. He told the officials to make the website mobile-friendly since visitors usually access the sites from their smartphones. “Make use of good photographs and videos of the tourist destinations to attract those visiting the website,” he advised.

Deputy Commissioner Kumara said info boards with information on tourist sites will be put up along the Bengaluru-Mysuru Expressway for visitors.